Of all the rookies on this year’s Epson Tour, perhaps none are as intriguing as Gabriela Ruffels, the former elite tennis player turned hungry pro golfer.
Ruffels, seemingly on a fast track to stardom, looked poised to be on the LPGA full-time this year. But she missed out on advancing to Q-Series by a single stroke at Stage II last October and will now spend most of 2022 on the Epson Tour (formerly Symetra Tour). The top 10 players on the money list at season’s end will earn LPGA cards for 2023. The Epson Tour kicks off next week in Winter Haven, Florida, at the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic.
“It was my first Q-School, and obviously I had big expectations,” said Ruffels. “I was very close.